World War G
by Godlypowers12
Summary: What happens when a Russian Missile strikes Long Island? Do the Gods reveal themselves and start World War God?
1. Chapter 1

**AN: VERY IMPORTANT!**

The way characters are represented in this story is purely fictional and for your entertainment. The way I have represented them is not my opinions, but rather for the benefit of the story. If you are offended in any way by the way characters behave in this story, please do not hesitate to leave a review if you thought a particular mannerism of a character is too far exaggerated and I will do my best to fix it.

The way influential leaders and persons of power are used in this story are purely for the benefit of the plot and I in no way do condole the actions of the people in this story, as they are all fictional and in no way related to the people of the real world.

With that being said, enjoy.

\- Godlypowers12 (I really need to change my name)

Disclaimer: The characters from PJO are owned by Rick Riordan

**Chapter One: **

**January 5****th****, 2020**

**BREAKING NEWS: Trump makes major mistake in conversation with Putin, Russia looks for war?!**

'In recent news, President Trump has made an unbelievably rude comment in the presence of Putin, the leader of Russia. Putin stated:'

_"This comment will not go unpunished. If this is what America thinks of the Russian Military Power, we will look for war. Us here in the Russian Government will not tolerate the immaturity and misbehaving's of Donald Trump and the majority of his Advisers. We do state that the actions of President Trump an act of war." _

'Is World War 3 coming? What can we do to stop this?'

**BREAKING NEWS: Trump retains power through autocratic rule**

'President Donald J. Trump has seized power in the government through bribery. He has taken control of the police and military in an autocratic rule. He had this to say:'

_"Now is the time you, the people of America, need a strong president. I am that man. I can control the military and lead us to victory against Russia, and if that means I take complete power, then so be it. Now is not the time to change Presidents. We are at war America!" _

'President Trump declared that he was the most suitable dictator…'

*Swish*

Jonathon Crowl switched off the television in his living room. His jaw dropped. They were at war with Russia. Trump was now the dictator of their country, there would be no advisers, no military generals. Just him. The very same man that had begun what looked to be World War 3.

He could only hope the nuclear deterrent would be enough to save them from Nuclear War…

XXX

**January 6****th****, 2020 **

Percy dripped with sweat as he climbed the dangerous wall at the center of Camp Half – Blood. He was nearly at the top, about to beat Jason to the top. Of course, Jason could just fly, but where was the fun in that?

Percy cursed at the lapse in concentration and continued upwards as fast as he could.

The horn sounded, scaring him. Both he and Jason fell off the wall from the surprising sound. He landed with a thump on the ground, groaning. Jason drifted down slowly with a grin on his face.

"Soft landing?"

Percy groaned and pulled himself to his feet.

"Do we have a camp meeting or something?" he asked.

"I assume so" was the response from Jason.

Percy groaned again and they moved off towards the Big House, where the meetings were usually held. The other demigods of Camp Half – Blood all stood around the Big House, where Chiron and Mr. D were standing. Both looked grave. That was worrying.

"Attention!" Chiron shouted, shutting up the chatter and whispers that were being scattered around the camp.

"It is important that you all listen carefully, as a matter of utmost importance has come to my attention. Last week, the President of the United States of America made a… well… an offensive comment about Putin, the leader of Russia."

Nervous murmuring and a few "so what's" were scattered around the hall as he said this.

"Shut it!" Mr. D yelled. Percy raised an eyebrow, if Mr. D was taking this seriously, then something was definitely up.

"I bet quite a lot of you are wondering what this has to do with us!" Chiron shouted. "Well, as many of you know, the Mortal world do not use swords and bows any longer, instead using weapons of mass destruction such as bombs, missiles, machine guns! I know almost all of you know what these weapons are capable of! If Russia decides to start a Nuclear War, we could be wiped out! This is a warning. We need to be careful, but the best thing we can do is hope we don't get hit" Chiron finished.

A chill seemed to run through the Demigods as they realised what that meant. There was nothing they could do if Russia hit Long Island.

XXX

**BREAKING NEWS: Russia threatens to fire missiles after Trump retains power**

'Putin threatens to fire missiles at New York and Washington if Trump is not evicted or does not abdicate. He had this to say:'

_"President Trump will not help you in this war. I feel sorry for the people of America, having this selfish dictator as their leader. I give you this chance. Remove Trump from office and I will forgive this insult. Fail to do so and I will act."_

'Trump responded to this statement:'

_"If Putin cannot accept the fact that I am the one true ruler of the United States, then he will have his war, and I will make him regret ever starting this war. My comment was simply a joke, I meant no offence by it. If he wants to take this seriously and start a war which will cost the lives of millions of people, then so be it." _

*Swish*

Jonathon Crowl once again flicked off the television. He needed to do something about this. If war broke out between America and Russia, the world could end. Despite what he might hope, Donald Trump did not have the patience for a drawn – out war. If this war was allowed to start, it could be the end of the world.

XXX

**January 17****th, ****2020**

Camp Half – Blood was strangely peaceful at 5:30am. The Demigods had slept in after a day of exhausting events the previous day. A 24-year-old Percy Jackson got up to take Annabeth down to the beach. That morning, over a hundred Demigods were gathered on the beach to mourn the death of Carter Monset, a young demigod son of Hermes that had drowned the night before, feet caught under the rocks of a river in Capture the Flag. Chiron, Mr. D, and the other camp instructors gathered at the front. Percy, Annabeth, Jason, Piper, Leo, Frank, and Hazel stood in solemn silence as Chiron began the ceremony.

Chiron had made it about 3 minutes in when a low whistling sound pierced their ears. They turned to each other in confusion and a low murmur started up around the funeral area on the beach.

**BOOM!**

**AN: **

Sorry for it being such a short chapter, they'll be longer in future I promise, just wanted to leave it as a cliff hanger, hooks and all that. Anyways,

Thanks for Reading.


	2. Chapter 2

**AN:**

_Response to Reviews: _

"I get that you might not like Trump, but come on this a little much, and war over a comment"

Response: Ok, I get where you're coming from here, but this is just the beginning of a more complex plot. Its not like I don't like Trump (I'm not a fan, but I don't hate him). Clearly you haven't read the Authors Note at the beginning where I explain all of this. I advise you do this to understand why I've done this. I can't really respond to this without spoiling what is to come, but you'll just have to trust me that I know its exaggerated, and there is a reason behind it that will come much later.

"Why isn't the barrier blocking it? It was supposed to block everything mortal from entering"

Response: I'm assuming you mean the missile striking at the end of the chapter. The barrier is there to keep out mortals from entering, not necessarily mortal machinations. Think of the bronze bull, it was able to break through the barrier. Missiles are heavy weapons of war and destruction, they would be able to quite easily get through the barrier.

"My only questions are, if the Greek and Roman gods reappear does that mean the old countries that worshipped them begin to re – worship them? For example, does the Italian and Greek government join the gods or do the gods simply use the demigods to fight the war and never actually involve themselves like the books?"

Response: This is actually quite a difficult question to answer. In terms of the first question, I had no plans to include this information as the old countries that worshipped them are now mostly of the five / six world religions, and the actual belief in the gods doesn't exist in the modern day. Although they now do believe, this would make the gods more powerful, yet those fighting AGAINST the gods (quite a lot of countries) do not make them more powerful as they are the enemies. In this story, the more people that believe in the gods is not going to affect their power level.

As for the second question, I don't particularly want to spoil what is to come too much. However, I will say that the Gods will play a role in the war, although the story will mainly focus on the demigods.

Whew! That was way more reviews / questions then I expected. Sorry for the very long authors note.

All Reviewers get a cookie :D

**Chapter Two:**

**January 17th, 2020 **

**BOOM!**

The ground shook. Smoke rose from the camp just 400 meters away. The demigods closest fell from the shattering noise and shakes. Screams could be heard all around the camp, the Demigods dashed away from the camp as fast as they could as fires sprouted up all over it.

They scattered, rushing for the city of New York, weapons blazing as they sprinted from the camp. The barriers surrounding it collapsed, the buildings and trees of Camp Half – Blood went up in flames.

The Demigods vanished into New York City, Percy amongst them, as they rushed to escape the threat of the mortal weapons of mass destruction. Another missile struck Long Island as they ran, tears streaming down their faces as they bolted for Mount Olympus.

XXX

"Today, we mourn the deaths of 53 Demigod children who were killed in the violent attack from the mortals of Russia" Zeus stated. For once, he actually looked sad. However, if you looked close enough you could see his face flash in anger that he was clearly struggling to hold in.

"They fought valiantly in the Second Titan War against Kronos, and bravely again in the war against Gaea. They were our brothers, sisters, sons, daughters, and friends. They were part of the backbone in our wars and supported us when they were needed. They were brave, strong, and intelligent. Their deaths were caused by an abomination of mortal technology which we cannot hope to understand. They died for us, and although they died in the equivalent of a backstab, we wish them well in the afterlife." Zeus said.

Many of the four hundred or so demigods were crying for their friends and siblings, others were clearly trying to keep it together. The young children howled for the people they knew, others looked confused.

"Today, on January the 17th, Russia wronged the Gods and Demigods of Greece. They wronged us by killing our own when we did not provoke them. I do not know how they knew of our existence, only that they must be defeated on the battle field. Today, us, the Gods, and you, our sons and daughters, stand with America in the war against Russia. It is time for us to reveal ourselves to the mortal population of America and join in this war. For Russia has attacked us and forced us to play our hand. Let us remember the Demigods killed by the Russians in peace but let us also avenge them in anger. Make Russia fear us, the gods, the demigods, the greatest warriors of all time…"

Tear streaked faces gained looks of determination. They were scared, but they were determined. They wanted revenge.

XXX

**BREAKING NEWS: Russian Missile narrowly misses New York, striking Long Island. **

'At approximately 5:30 am yesterday morning, January the 17th, Russia launched two missiles with the intent of striking down many buildings in New York. Thankfully, the missiles were misdirected and landed on the uninhabited island of Long Island, the only thing to be destroyed being an old strawberry farm. President Trump had this to say:'

_"It is clear now that Putin is looking for war. He is a bloodthirsty man with the intent to kill us all. He has started this war over a petty little comment, and now we will end it. If he wants to continue on this path, then he will soon regret ever touching the United States of America." _

'Russia has cut off all communication with the news reporters of the United States. We have no access to the country and several of our planes have been shot down. Many American tourists touring Russia have been taken into captivity. We pray today, for the men and women trapped in that horrid country.'

*Swish*

Jonathon Crowl stared at the screen blankly. He slowly stood up and looked out of his apartment window, the shock of how close he had come to dying striking home. Those hadn't been warning shots, they had just missed.

He looked down at the streets, where people were flooding them. He could hear their cries of panic as they tried to escape the city. Many rushed for the airport, and many more were attempting to drive out of the city, seeking a safer location.

Afterall, if Russia could fire a missile over there that easily, were they ever safe?

XXX

Percy, Annabeth, and the rest of the seven followed Zeus, Poseidon, and Hades through the busy streets of New York. People were panicking so much they did not give the oddly dressed group a second glance. They were rushing to escape the city which was trapping them. Thousands of people shouted to get through first, many were shoved over and trampled by the others.

The small party of ten eventually worked their way to the CNN headquarters. It was time for the reveal, where they would show America who they had on their side.

They pushed their way through and into the almost empty CNN entrance room. Zeus strode confidently up to the receptionist's desk.

"Can I help you…?" the receptionist asked, looking clearly confused at the way they were dressed.

"I wish to speak with the head news guy or whatever his name is, I have an update on the war against Russia" Zeus stated.

The receptionist raised an eyebrow. "And what would that be?" she asked.

"We are here to announce the Greek Gods are on America's side, and we wish to avenge our fallen brethren who were killed from the missile strike at Long Island" Zeus said.

The receptionist laughed. "Really? Well I'll be, Greek Gods?!" she laughed again, waving them off.

"I'm serious! I am Zeus, King of the Gods and God of the Sky, Thunder, Lighting, Storms!" he exclaimed, annoyed.

"Yeah and I live in a mansion under the sea!" the receptionist said, laughing.

Poseidon grumbled.

XXX

"I can't believe this! Kicked out of a stupid building by a mortal!" Zeus exclaimed.

"Calm down Zeus, think about it. If you were a mortal, and some guy rushed into a news building claiming to be a Greek God, would you believe them?" Poseidon asked.

"I suppose you're right. We'll just have to find another way to show them that we exist." Zeus grumbled. The sky rumbled in response as Zeus began to raise a storm over New York.

"Surely they'll believe me now!" Zeus said with a smug smirk. "I told them that there would be a storm tonight even though there was a 0% chance of rain for the next two weeks."

Poseidon laughed. "Maybe this is a better way to go about it, we'll just prove it to them!"

Percy raised his eyebrows and turned to Annabeth, who also had her eyebrows raised. The Gods were thousands of years old, but they could be children sometimes.

XXX

Whilst their little venture got their minds off the tragedy at Long Island, it did cause a large number of problems for them. The first being coming up with a way to reveal themselves to the Mortals of America.

It was 7:00pm in New York, and the crowds had not slowed down at all. Percy and Annabeth stood on a balcony on Mount Olympus, looking at the especially busy streets below.

"How do we reveal ourselves to them?" Percy asked her.

"I think the best way is to just get Hecate to drop the mist and kill some monsters in front of them" Annabeth said. "Its not the smartest approach, but I reckon it's the easiest and most direct way to get through to them. We get Hecate to drop the mist and lure some monsters into an area with cameras to try and make the news."

"Yeah, I agree. It would probably scare some people, but then they'll at least know we're here to help them in this war." Percy said.

Annabeth smiled. "Lets just relax for now, we can deal with the war tomorrow." She said, leaning against him.

Percy nodded, and they looked out over the city once again.

XXX

**January 19th, 2020 **

Hecate had dropped the mist in the early hours of the morning. The seven stood in the center of a busy courtyard at 7:30am. There were still people yelling and trying to get out of the city, as they had been all the previous day and night. Many of the faces around them looked distraught as the ran by.

"They all look so terrified" Annabeth said.

"Yeah, I'm not sure I want to do this to them. They look scared enough as it is" Hazel said as she looked at them. "Poor people, their lives were just turned upside down."

"I agree, but we have to do this. Otherwise they won't know what they have helping them. They will be even more scared for a bit, but when they realise, they have Gods fighting for them? It could install a good measure of hope into them. The rewards outweigh the risks" Percy said.

The rest of them nodded grimly.

Suddenly, several mortals screamed and the seven heard the growl of a hellhound from behind them. They spun, swords, knives, bows and more weapons flaring as they rushed the three hellhounds. Their blades flashed as they leapt and spun in a blur of silver and flesh. The hellhounds didn't last long against the superior fighting force of the seven demigods.

The Mortals stared at them in mixes of fear, surprise and even hope in some eyes. The seven slowly turned and walked away, leaving a crowd of stunned mortals behind them. As they turned to walk the yelling started. The crowds slowly began to race back, trying to force their way out of the city.

XXX

**BREAKING NEWS: Greek Gods in America?!**

'Early this morning, a group of seven "demigods" were spotted saving a large crowd of people in from what we now know as "hellhounds", which are giant hounds from Greek mythology. According to one of the demigods, whose name is to remain discrete, stated that they had been hiding amongst us this entire time. The Greek Gods stated that they would be on our side in the war against Russia, stating that they wanted revenge for the deaths of 39 demigods due to the missile strike on Long Island on January the 17th. Trump commented:'

_"These Greek Gods, whoever they are, obviously are very powerful to have been using a magical force to hide from us. The fact that they are on our side in very important to our cause, Russia made a big mistake by misjudging that missile." _

'We will now play the footage of the seven demigods attacking the hellhounds. Viewer discretion is advised as the following scenes could be possibly disturbing to young audiences.'

**BREAKING NEWS: Thousands of people flee New York **

'Ever since the missile strike that hit Long Island two days ago, thousands of people have been fleeing the city, creating major traffic issues and mass panic. Peter Trafical stated:'

_"The severe clogging of the streets makes it almost impossible to drive out of New York. I can see why these people want to get out of the city, but by clogging the streets they are stopping each other from escaping…" _

*Swish*

Jonathon Crowl sighed. Could things get any crazier? Greek Gods were real. It was very hard to believe, in fact, even after seeing the footage, Jonathon still thought it was a hoax. But it was on National News! And the attack had apparently happened just seven blocks from his apartment, when he had been sleeping.

Jonathon could almost taste the death in the air. A war was coming, and Jonathon, nor anyone else, had any idea how to stop it.

XXX

General Joseph Dunford stood stock still in the meeting room. President Trump sat silently at the other end, his eyes boring into him.

"North Korea has joined Russia's side. They are providing Russia with their own weaponry." Trump stated suddenly.

"Yes Sir, but we have the United Kingdom, France, Australia, and New Zealand." Joseph responded.

Trump appeared not to hear him. "Soon, Germany will also join them. Russia and North Korea have the biggest military forces in the world apart from China."

"We will have a better army." Dunford responded.

"No, we won't! Russia and North Korea combined have over two million total troops, 500,000 planes!" Trump exclaimed in frustration. "Want to know what we have? We have, in total, 1,800,000 total troops between us, France, Australia, the UK, and New Zealand. That's it. They have approximately 300,000 more troops then us, maybe more, and Germany hasn't joined the war yet."

"There has to be a way to win against them, could we get China behind our cause?" Dunford asked.

"Unlikely, China has the biggest military in the world, but if they are joining the war it isn't on our side. We need to keep them neutral or we lose." Trump breathed outwards heavily. "I need you, and the other military generals, to find a way to keep China out of this war. That's your job Dunford, and if you can't do it, Milley will have your position."

XXX

**January 20th, 2020 **

General Valery Gerasimov, Chief of the General Staff in the Russian Military, stood on the balcony outside the Kremlin in the centre of Moscow. Ever since that foolish president, Donald Trump, had made that comment, something had changed in Putin's mindset. He seemed hellbent on war with America. His overall goal appeared to be the domination of the United States. He had been distant, his only contact with Valery in recent times had been the order to shoot missiles at New York City.

Valery was extremely surprised when Vladimir Putin walked out onto the balcony and stood next to him.

"We are winning this war" he stated.

"I believe so, President" Valery responded simply.

"Have you heard of these 'Gods' that America supposedly has supporting them?" Putin asked.

"I have, and I have seen the evidence. There is some sort of monstrous beasts in America. The 'Demigods' as they call themselves, have been killing them for hundreds of years. Our spy has discovered the location of them." Valery said.

"Oh really? And where would that be?" Putin asked, raising an eyebrow.

"According to our spy, they reside on top of the Empire State Building, in the clouds." Gerasimov said.

"Then we will aim for the Empire State Building on our next attack." Putin said.

XXX


	3. Chapter 3

**Response to Reviews:**

"I don't get how the missiles were able to get inside camp…" The review was much longer but I can't be bothered writing it out, so I'll just do the response.

Response: First, the bronze bulls were mythical creatures that broke down the barrier, not mortal ones. If you do some quick background research on the border, its designed to keep Mortals from 1. Seeing it, and 2. Accidently walking into it. It is not designed to keep out heavy, explosive weaponry. The barrier wouldn't necessarily stop the missiles, in fact, it wouldn't at all. It wasn't designed to defend against something moving faster than the speed of sound with high explosive capability striking it. This review is hard to respond to, in my opinion. So instead, I will say this:

I am not following the capability of the weapon power, gods power, and other things shown in canon completely. These reviews are hard to respond to without spoiling what is to come, so I would prefer to just continue with the story for the next few chapters which will hopefully help clear up your questions.

"It was protected by magic, though right? And it's not the Empire state building just the entryway…?"

Response: Admittedly, I'm not exactly sure what you mean here. I'm not sure if you're talking about Camp Half-Blood or not, but I'm assuming you are, which in this case, see above response.

Thanks for reviewing, and I'm always happy to answer questions if possible!

**Chapter Three: **

**January 20th, 2020**

Frank – Walter Steinmeier raised his eyebrows at the latest news. 'America and Russia at war? This could present a good opportunity to strike back from the unfairness of World War 1.' He thought.

Ursula von der Leven stood sat at the other end of the long table in the military meeting room.

"I believe invading France is a good idea, President, we have the defence capability to defend ourselves and invade France at the same time." Ursula von der Leven said. "France may have a slightly bigger army, but they are spread out very thing from defending the recent invasions by small raid forces of Russia. They have lost several small towns and the defence is spread thin to stop them from a full invasion."

"I agree. Now is the time to enter this war, and I'm not siding with Britain or France." Steinmeier replied.

"How do you want me to set up the attack?"

XXX

The young French soldier stood diligently at the border of his country. It had been surprisingly peaceful recently, after all of the small raiding parties Russia had invaded them with recently. He stood with his gun by his side as he watched the horizon. He prayed that the peacefulness would last for the next few weeks until he was off duty.

XXX

Percy stood atop the Empire State Building, looking over the scene of New York City once again. The initial panic seemed to have calmed down as they realised there would be no follow up attack. Over 1 million people had fled the city, leaving it quite a bit quieter then it had been originally. Percy looked at all the missile defence systems that were now on code red danger levels. They would have radars and other powerful technology at the ready to stop another attack. Percy didn't think another attack would come for a while. It was highly likely that Vladimir Putin would be perfectly content to wait while America sat, staring at their radars.

Percy jumped into the elevator and began to head downwards towards the busy streets. Upon exiting the Empire State Building, he was instantly hit by the stench of urine and pollution. The fleeing of the city had not been pretty at all. People had just up and left with no warning, leaving disgusting gases and other fluids behind. Trash littered the streets. And yet, all the people rushing through the city ignored this, ignored what their city was turning into as they focussed only on surviving.

Percy gritted his teeth and began to run. He ran over seven kilometres (4.35 miles) before reaching his destination. It was a dimly lit, dusty looking tavern in an alleyway. There had been rumours of mysterious people hanging around the tavern, and Percy was determined to find out who they were.

Grimly, he pulled his hood up and shoved the door open. A few people stopped to look at him as he entered, but the majority just ignored him. Percy made his way to the bar and ordered a beer before making his way to a table in the corner of the room. The table was relatively close to a group of strange looking men, who had dark cloaks on and were whispering hurriedly.

Percy sat down near them and took a sip of the beer. It was quite cheap and horrible, but he drank it anyways. The group nearby were talking very quickly, in accented English. A Russian accent, Percy realised. The only reason they weren't talking in Russian was the bar tender, who had been the one to originally report the suspicious group. Being Russian wasn't illegal in America, they still had a fair sense of court, but anyone reported to be a possible infiltrator would be investigated by the police.

Percy leaned a little bit closer and was able to catch their conversation.

"Amerdan, surely you know that Russia will win this war? We cannot be here when they invade, which they will. If Trump doesn't stand down, Putin will attack. We could be declared traitors for not reporting to him, even though its impossible to get out of the country." The man closest to Percy whispered.

The man next to him shifted slightly. "Yes, but without national internet access, its impossible to send out a message on what we have found."

Percy raised his eyebrows. This could be important.

The man closest to Percy glimpsed around the room, apparently paying no attention to Percy.

"There is a weakness in the missile defence system. Its how Putin struck Long Island in the first place. The missile wasn't redirected, it was just a miscalculation. The missile was meant to strike the city, of course, but the small gap in the web of defence systems was slightly off where it was originally thought to be. That's why Long Island was hit. No one else knows about this, even the Russian Spy in the city didn't know why the missile had missed. Apparently, they didn't even know about the flaw in the system, and that it was almost like the missile had a mind of its own as it went through."

Percy leaned back slowly. 'So, these men, had found a flaw in our defence system that Putin didn't know about? Interesting. And the missile had a mind of its own? That could mean several things.' Percy thought. 'It could mean that it literally steered off course by itself, straight through the flaw, or it could have been controlled by an external force, but what?'

The man to the right had begun to speak. "We could tell the spy. I don't know how that man does it, but he somehow is able to communicate with Putin. Then we could go scot free should Russia successfully invade America."

The man to the left, Amerdan, leaned forwards. "Yes, but how do we get to the spy without being spotted or looking suspicious? If we were to be caught doing this, we would be executed for treason. If Putin loses that spy, then America's movements are secret. So how do we tell him what we've found?" he asked.

"I don't know, but we sure as hell better think of something" the man closest to Percy whispered.

Then, they all abruptly got up and left. Percy leaned backwards in his seat and quietly finished the beer he had in his hand. 'So, there are spies in the city, more than one, and they all want to report to 'the spy'. Interesting, but also terrifying. Russia had spies in America, and there was a fairly good chance America had no spies in Russia.' He thought.

XXX

**January 22nd, 2020 **

Ursula von der Leven stood behind his army, raised slightly on a hill. It was time to knock France out of this war, or at least disable them. He could see the French soldiers running around about 1 – 2 kilometres away. They were panicking. They were, without doubt, calling for reinforcements. There looked to be only 10,000 men there at that moment.

"The time is now. Attack!" General Leven shouted. The command was shouted down the line of 100,000 ground forces and spoken into the telecoms up to the planes above. They moved forwards.

Several planes launched from the French side, but they wouldn't last long against the far superior German Army. The ground forces crossed the distance in 4 minutes, the planes far ahead. The French anti – air guns had struck down several German planes early, but the German planes had quickly struck down all the French planes, not that there had been many.

The French land forces didn't last long against the larger number of German tanks and artillery, and they soon were overrun, forced to flee from their defensive position. The German army moved forwards and occupied their position in the small town. It was a crushing defeat for the small French Army, although they were sure to get a large army together to fight back if Germany advanced too quickly.

XXX

Moon Jae-in stood stiffly in his room. France had been invaded by German forces and had requested help. America was tied up against Russia and couldn't move fast enough to help them without risking an attack. He loathed to send a large amount of South Korean forces across to France, but he didn't have much choice but to defend his allies.

General Park Han-ki entered the room.

"Commander" he said, bowing.

"General" Jae-in responded.

"I take it you have heard that France has requested back up and reached the same conclusion as I?" he said.

"I have" Jae-in said simply.

"Then you have made a decision?" Han-ki questioned.

"We will send one quarter of our armed forces across to France. If they are killed, there will be no more reinforcements. Although we are part of the allies, a key part of this is surviving the war. If we can retain peace with as many countries as possible, that would be preferable to any other situation. Make the orders General." Jae-in said with a small, barely visible sigh.

"Yes Commander" the General replied, backing out of the room.

"Let us hope I have made the right decision" Moon Jae-in said quietly to himself once the General had left.

XXX

**January 30th, 2020 **

The South Korean force travelled quickly towards France. They were on high alert for enemy armies and air forces. They rushed across the land towards France in the hopes of saving them from an almost inevitable defeat to the German Armed Forces.

An alarm blared through the camp, signalling an attack. The South Korean Army dashed into a flurry of motion, spotting the Russian Intelligence Force speeding towards them on the horizon.

The planes and tanks of the Russian Intelligence force looked ominous on the horizon. The South Korean force prepared themselves for a striking attack by the Russian Army. About five minutes later, the army struck.

The Russian Planes demolished the South Korean ones with minimal casualties, their superior numbers forcing the South Koreans to retreat into their own lines. The guns of the Russian Army fell upon the South Koreans. The South Korean Army fought valiantly, but at the end it wasn't enough. The superior man power of the Russian Army forced them back and took thousands of lives. The Russian Intelligence Force crushed South Korea, scattering the remaining men and one plane into the wilderness.

XXX

Travis Stoll was looking for his brother. This was odd. He always knew where Connor was, but now… he had disappeared into the busy streets of New York City. It had been over two hours, and Connor had still not returned to the Empire State Building. He had checked every half an hour, and no one had seen him since they had left that day. Travis was getting desperate.

There were people everywhere, none of them payed attention to a single person looking for someone else. Travis dashed down yet another street, searching for Connor Stoll. Percy, Annabeth, and Leo were also roaming New York in the hunt for Connor Stoll. Yet, it was almost impossible for four people to find someone else in New York. There were so many people it was almost hopeless. But Travis refused to give up.

'If I were Connor, where would I go?' Travis thought. The answer was simple; he'd be looking for either somewhere to eat, or someone to prank. Meaning he would likely be looking for people he knew. Travis tried to ignore the possibility that he could have been captured and killed by monsters.

XXX

Connor Stoll stood in front of an odd-looking building in the outskirts of New York. There were weird markings surrounding the outside, they looked to be burnt into the side of the building. There were small ropes scattered across the lawn, on the roof, and hanging out windows. It was one of the most peculiar things Connor Stoll had ever seen. He didn't know how he had found this place, only that one moment he had been walking, the next he was here. Outside this odd - looking house, clearly rundown and abandoned.

He stepped forwards and slowly climbed the steps onto the veranda outside the house. The steps creaked eerily as he walked on them. The wooden planks of the veranda creaked and cracked under his feet. He slowly reached for the door knob. He touched it and immediately yanked his hand away with a small yelp of pain. He inspected his hand, only to see a burn mark in the shape of a perfect circle in the centre of his hand, bright red and surrounded with a thin, black line. He looked at it, confused for a moment, before slowly touching the door knob again. Nothing. Connor turned the door knob and was surprised to find the odd house unlocked.

For some reason, nothing in his mind was screaming not to enter the odd house that had just burnt him. All he wanted to do was walk forwards into this odd - looking house. He continued to walk across creaky floor boards towards the main living room. Surprisingly, there was a fire lit under the fireplace. It let out no smoke. Just fire.

"Hello?" Connor called softly, wondering who could live in this house.

There was no response. Connor glanced around the oddly lit room, where shadows danced in the corners, battling to get inside the fire light. There were several pieces of rope lying by the fireplace, and for some reason Connor felt the urge to grab them. He slowly walked over and picked one up.

The others suddenly sprang to life and wrapped around him, binding him, burning him.

"HEL- "

XXX

**Thanks for reading chapter 3 :) **


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter Four:**

**Its been a long time since updating this story. Work and school have been really catching up to me and I haven't had time to write anything since I uploaded chapter 3. (Yes, chapter 4 has been written since then). Unfortunately, I just kinda forgot about this story with the pressure of assessment (which is still there by the way). So yeah, this will be the last chapter until likely after my Chemistry assignment is due (about 2-3 weeks).**

**Response to Reviews:**

"About my comment, I meant Mount Olympus. Like, since the Empire State Building is only the entryway, the actual MOUNT OLYMPUS won't be affected right?"

Response: Ah, ok. That makes much more sense. I can't answer this question at the moment, so you'll just have to wait and see how it plays out.

"Oh boy, another Trump hater. Why do you need to inject politics into fanfiction? Does it make you feel better? We'll have fun dealing with him till 2024! MAGA!"

Response: Oh boy, another person that didn't read the Authors Note labelled very important at the start of chapter 1. As to why I need to inject politics into fanfiction. I mean… not like it's a massive part of war and the plot…. Nope… completely unnecessary…. I accepted your review so other people can see how you failed to read my note on how all the politics and the leader's actions were exaggerated deliberately. If you had read that, you would understand that my representation of those politicians in the story have nothing to do with how they act in real life or in my opinions. By leaving that review all you did was make yourself look stupid.

**February 3rd, 2020**

Percy glanced around at the three hundred or so demigods around him. They were gathered in the throne room of Mount Olympus.

"Attention" Zeus stated, his voice travelling across the throne room. "Russia has been silent for quite a time now. I believe now is the time to strike." Muttering broke out across the room. Zeus held up a hand for silence. "Many of you would have heard of the interception of the South Korean Army, and how a Russian Intelligence Force wiped them out. I have decided that the best way to weaken Russia is from the inside. We are going on a secret invasion deep into Russia, our goal is to wipe out several intelligence forces. Mortals may have guns, and bombs, and other fancy stuff we don't have, but they don't have Gods."

The Demigods nodded grimly.

"We leave in three hours, don't bother with spare clothes, bring food, water, and your weapons." Zeus said.

The Demigods raced off, some disappearing into the city and others running off down the halls of Mount Olympus to gather their things.

XXX

Several hours later, the Gods and Demigods had climbed aboard the _Argo II. _They were about twelve hours into the journey towards Russia. Percy smiled as he smelt the sea breeze. Even though they were heading to somewhere where hundreds of them likely to die, it was quite peaceful for that moment. Just 12 Gods and 300 Demigods in the open sea. If he looked hard enough, he could just see the outline of their destination on the horizon.

It was several hours later that the tired demigods and not so tired Gods arrived on the shoreline in the early hours of the morning. It was surprisingly quiet on the small, private beach. The Demigods readied their supplies and weapons and crept onto the rocky shore. They didn't know exactly where they were, only that they were on the very border of Russia. They slipped quietly off the beach and across the rocky, harsh land. They slowly crept in land, hoping that there were no Russian soldiers nearby. They were very tired after the long boat trip and were hoping for a place to rest for the next day before trying to attack a Russian Intelligence Force.

Alas, it wasn't to be. Jason had flown over the area as a scout, and there was apparently a small Russian camp four – five kilometres north of them. He approximated that there were about 3000 soldiers there, all armed with guns and possibly some artillery, but he hadn't gotten a particularly good look.

"What's the plan?" Percy asked, turning to Annabeth. They were currently in Zeus's tent, gathered for a plan to take the camp without letting any Russians escape.

"The best plan is to attack at night, giving us an element of surprise if they don't spot us. Six Gods on one side to stop them from trying to flee, the other six and the demigods attacking from the other three sides. We need to get up very close to do proper damage to them, if they spot us 100 meters from the camp, we'll take heavy casualties due to their guns and artillery. We cannot let them escape or they'll send a full, prepared Intelligence Force after us. The Gods power won't be as strong here, so I don't think we are strong enough to take on an entire force. Our powers will be, but we are very limited. Our celestial bronze weapons won't work against the mortals, so we have to attack with steel. We don't know the capabilities of their armour, so always aim for weak points, never try to batter it." Annabeth said.

Athena nodded. "If we can take out this force it will give the other demigods a confidence boost which we can hopefully ride on to take out a larger force. We are here as a quick team of assassins, basically. We strike hard and fast and get the hell out." She said. "However, I see a flaw in this plan. They have internet connection, allowing them to send extremely fast messages. We need to somehow disable these before we attack, or they'll get a message to their government."

Annabeth cursed softly. "The children of Hermes can sneak in and disable the messaging systems. There is about fifty of them. That's our best option. If we want to take this camp, we need to take some serious risks."

"I agree" Athena said, nodding. "Zeus can strike down their radio signal using lightning to further disable it."

The other gods and demigods in the tent nodded. "Let's go break the news" Zeus said.

"Attention Demigods!" Zeus shouted. The demigods came stumbling out of their tents and lined up in orderly formation outside Zeus's tent. "There is a small Russian defence camp about 4 kilometres North of us. They have scouts watching just two kilometres away. There will be no fires tonight. We attack in the early hours of the morning."

The demigods shifted uncomfortably. They were tired and not looking forward to an attack.

"Here's the plan. Six of us Gods will scout around the camp, departing in 30 minutes. We will wait behind the forces in case messengers try to flee. You will be attacking from the other three sides, 80 demigods to each side approximately. All children of Hermes will infiltrate the camp one and a half hours prior to the attack to disable the technology. Do you all know how to do this?" Zeus asked.

There was a shouted agreement from Hermes's children.

"Good. Does everyone understand?"

The demigods roared their approval. They were ready to fight.

XXX

General Joseph Dunford once again, stood in the meeting room. There was only one meeting room in his mind, the one where he spoke privately to President Donald J. Trump.

"You wanted to see me, President?" he asked hesitantly. Trump seemed to have lost a lot of his common sense recently, and every decision he made felt off.

"Yes… I am becoming… impatient with this war effort against Russia." He responded. Dunford tilted his head slightly, wondering where this was going. "China has yet to make a move, and I wish to show Putin how much of a mistake he made initiating this war. I wish to attack Moscow directly… and in a nuclear fashion." Trump stated.

Dunford's eyes widened. "No! President, you can't! if you drop a nuclear bomb, Russia will respond in kind! It could be the end of the world!" Dunford exclaimed.

"You can blame Russia for it. I wish for a resolution to this war, and I intend to come out on top, at all costs." Trump said.

"Please reconsider Sir! Please! It isn't worth the lives of possibly BILLIONS of people!"

"Quite on the contrary, I believe it is. We bunker down as many as we possibly can in the six nuclear bunkers scattered across the United States. Out military taking priority, obviously. Russia won't be prepared. If we can get six or seven nuclear bombs dropped in their major cities… we win." Trump said.

"Sir, the nuclear deterrent! You might take out millions of lives, but they still have nuclear weaponry scattered across their country, they could easily strike back and trigger a nuclear war that would end the world!" Dunford was almost yelling now, beginning to panic.

"I make the commands around here, Dunford. Or are you forgetting something?" Trump asked.

Dunford nodded sullenly and backed out of the room.

XXX

**February 4th, 2020 **

The demigods gathered in the scrublands near where the Russia camp was. Six of the Olympians had flown around the back under the cover of the clouds in their chariots. The demigods were currently preparing their weapons and armour for the fight of their lives. There was about half an hour until the ambush. The children of Hermes had shut down most of the messaging systems and radio stations, and they had yet to start back up.

Zeus struck down the radio tower with lightning, causing alarmed shouts to rise from the men as metal clattered down the side of the tower. Their internet connection and radio connection were completely cut. It was time to attack. The demigods rushed forward in complete silence, odd steel in their hands where they were used to celestial bronze. The sons of Apollo shot down guards from the backline as the demigods made it to the camp. All at once shouts of alarm spread through the Russian camp as they rushed for their weapons.

The demigods rushed forward, taking out many surprised Russian men before they could pick up their guns. The six Olympians around the back were attempting to stop the other Russians from picking up their weapons and were only slightly successful. 1600 Russians gathered their weapons, many of them falling to lightning strikes and waves of water, and only a small earthquake.

Light was beginning to shine over the horizon as the battle wore on. 50 demigods had died, and the initial rush of excitement was over. There was still many Russian creeping around the camp in small groups, whilst Demigods dashed from shadow to shadow in groups of three, continuously ambushing the well – armed Russians. The gods stuck from the sky, swooping down and using their immortality to their advantage, but the bullets from the Russians that continued to strike them was wearing them down, several had crashed into the scrublands and forest.

Percy, Annabeth and Travis Stoll crept around the corner of a tent. Their, just 15 paces away, was a small group of 10 Russians, all armed with guns and armour. They stood in a circle facing outwards, creeping slowly through the camp. None of them had seen the three demigods. They slowly slipped from tent to tent, staying just out of sight of the Russians. Percy spotted another trio of Demigods on the other side of the pathway between the tents and nodded slightly to them.

A son of Apollo amongst the other trio shot three arrows into the necks of the Russians before they realised what was happening. The demigods surged forwards, getting close enough to stab the Russians as they desperately shot and missed over and over. One demigod cried out in pain as several of the Russians went down. Several seconds later and five demigods stood victorious over the ten Russian soldiers. The son of Apollo lay on the ground, still in the shade of the tent he had shot his arrows from. There was a bullet in his stomach, and he coughed blood onto the ground, groaning.

The girl, a daughter of Demeter perhaps, force fed him nectar, but he was too far gone. The light faded from his eyes as he collapsed in the dirt, dead. The girl groaned in pain, anger, and despair, but stood up. Her eyes alit with a determined fire, and she faced them defiantly.

"We win this today, for him. And for all of our brothers and sisters who died." She said, daring one of them to say otherwise.

Percy nodded. "Let's keep moving there's still hundreds of them and not many of us. Several of the gods, I'm not sure which, have fallen. Zeus seems to have gone quiet. Its up to us." Percy said.

The others nodded in grim determination. "Let's go" Annabeth said, and led them back through the camp, creeping from tent to tent in what seemed like an endless journey.

XXX

A hundred Russian missiles flew across the ocean, aimed for the Empire State Building. The American defences aimed for them, and the anti-air turrets fired, striking down every missile, except one. The one missile in the blind spot of the American radar defences.

The missile travelled through faster than the speed of sound, no one even saw it until it struck the very center of the Empire State Building. The explosion caused the entire middle of the building to collapse. On February 4th, 2020, the top half of the Empire State Building, fell, collapsing and burning onto the streets below.

XXX

Jonathon Crowl's jaw dropped as the Empire State Building collapsed just two kilometres from his apartment. He saw the fire as it fell, killing almost everyone on the street below. This war was getting real… He needed to leave.

He flicked on the T.V.

**BREAKING NEWS: EMPIRE STATE BUILDING STRUCK BY RUSSIAN MISSILE!**

'Just one hour ago, the Empire State Building was struck down by a Russian missile which somehow bypassed American defences. President Trump had this to say:

"_If Putin wants a war to kill thousands, then so be it. America will not tolerate the deliberate targeting of world - renowned buildings and structures, we will fight back America, and that is my promise" _

Jonathon Crowl flicked off the T.V. The war was getting out of hand. And he was in the middle of the target zone.

But… hadn't the home of the Greek Gods been on top of Mount Olympus? What had happened to them?

Little did he know, that what he was thinking was echoing through the minds of thousands of people…

XXX

Zeus groaned from where he lay in the dirt by the Russian camp. He was one of the Gods that had taken too many bullets. But there was something else, something that was causing them to become weaker. But what was it?

Then he realised. He couldn't feel a strong connection to Mount Olympus. Not out here, not in Russia. His powers were weakening, and for some reason, so was Mount Olympus. They were… it was… fading…

**End of Chapter 4**

**Thanks for Reading! **


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Response to Reviews:**

"Damn, I don't know what political affiliation you might have. But, shoving all this political propaganda don't the readers throat is no better than any political slander they talk on the tv or internet."

Response: Hmm… yeah, I'm not sure if you're the same person that originally commented about this or not, and I honestly don't care. The political side of this story is completely fictional, hence the name "fan_fiction." _I'm not sure if you know what propaganda even means, since its quite clear I'm not promoting my point of view on politics, and it would be even more clear if you read the author's note at the start of chapter 1. I'm also fairly certain my fictional story based around Greek myths is not biased or misleading, nor is it promoting a political cause. Overall, your review makes no sense whatsoever since I'm quite clearly just writing a fictional story and not shoving "propaganda" down the readers throat. The rest of your review is pointless and makes zero sense in terms of a fictional story I'm writing for fun. I'm not exactly sure what your problem is, or if you're writing these reviews to be annoying deliberately, and I don't particularly care either. You can keep writing them and I'll keep explaining why you're wrong at the start of every chapter if you really want to.

Definition of propaganda: _Information, usually biased or misleading, to promote a political cause or point of view._

Yeah. Last time I checked I wasn't promoting a political cause with biased information in a fictional story based around myths. Think before you review next time.

**AN: Sorry for the VERY long wait. I intend to have another chapter out this week (although we'll see how that goes haha). Unfortunately, the biggest term of the school year is coming up in just one week, meaning I'm going to have to focus primarily on that as opposed to writing this story. So on Monday of next week, this story will once again be going on Hiatus (at least until I've finished my assessment). Although I will try to write bits and pieces when taking breaks from study etc. **

**Anyways, enjoy the chapter. **

**Chapter 5:**

**February 4th, 2020**

Connor Stoll's eyes opened. But he couldn't see. He could barely make out the world around him, nothing but blurry shapes and bright lights. He could feel the heat of a fire nearby but could not see it. He groaned and rolled over sideways. The warmth beckoned him, and yet he couldn't move his arms or legs. They weren't bound. Connor realised he felt extremely warm, hot even. His mind didn't think straight.

He slowly sat up, blurry shapes and bright lights spinning around him in a flurry of colour. His vision swam as it began to come back. But it was different. He saw the shadows in the corners clearly, they leaked darkness and despair. He slowly turned around on the floor and saw the fire. It was so bright and warm Connor couldn't believe it. He wanted to reach out and touch it but couldn't move his arms.

The fire called to him. _Come Closer _it said.

Connor shuffled forwards on his knees, his arms hanging limply by his sides. The fire was right in front of his face now, and slowly, Connor lay down, head in the fire, feeling its warmth, its power.

XXX

Percy, Annabeth, and Travis continued to creep through the camp, swords ready. They had been hearing shouts all night, and the daylight had crept across the sky, lighting up the camp. The battle seemed to be nearly over.

Percy poked his head around the corner of a tent, and immediately lurched back. Around the corner, in the clearing, was a group of 100 or so Russian soldiers. Their final stand. Percy could see demigods hiding all around the clearing, waiting for a chance to strike against the last Russians in the camp. Percy could see his father, Poseidon, hidden amongst them. He looked worn, tired, and weak. He stood hidden behind a tent, trident in hand. He was focussing on summoning and earthquake, but all he could manage was a shudder of earth to unsettle the Russians standing uneasily in a circle.

Percy caught the eyes of several sons of Apollo, bows loaded. He nodded. Better now than never. Arrows flew.

Russians fell in shouts of pain as 30 arrows smashed into their throats and eyes. The remaining demigods rushed forwards, swords flaring. They crossed the distance quickly, not allowing the Russians time to shoot them all down, although several of them fell.

The 30 demigods attacking managed to knock down and kill the remaining 70 or so Russians, and lay on the ground, exhausted. They had done it. They had won.

XXX

Poseidon lay in his tent, five kilometres from the Russian camp they had just burnt to the ground. He felt… weak… weary. Like he had been here too long. He had never felt this before. He knew the other gods were feeling it too. They all looked drained. Not just physically and emotionally, but powerfully drained. They didn't look like immortal beings, but rather tired mortals. Aging mortals…

XXX

Zeus stood in front of the eleven other Olympians.

"Russia struck the Empire State Building with a powerful missile early this morning. The people think Mount Olympus is gone. None believe it still exists. They all think we have died or are dying. I don't know why, or how this happened, but their minds are muddled. They think that because the Empire State Building is gone, so are we. We need to get back to Mount Olympus, right now." Zeus said.

"But what about the demigods?" Apollo asked.

"There is only 40 or so left. They can take the Argo II" Zeus said. "But we need to get back immediately. Which means we fly."

Poseidon nodded grimly. The demigods could look after themselves on the trip back to America.

XXX

**February 5th, 2020**

The demigods woke up from in their small campsite to the eerily quiet of the early morning after the battle.

Percy was up first, and his jaw dropped as he noticed the God's tents had disappeared. He immediately rushed over and began waking up the 40 remaining demigods.

"What do you mean the Gods disappeared?!" one of them yelled.

"I don't know! I woke up and their tents and chariots were gone!" Percy yelled.

The demigods, bleary eyed, gathered in the center of their campsite.

"Did the Gods ditch us?!" one of them yelled.

"It appears so…" Annabeth said sadly.

"We've still got the _Argo II_, at least we have a way home." Leo said, staring fondly at his ship, anchored by the shoreline.

Suddenly, the roar of a plane engine sounded overhead. The demigods looked up in disbelief as a Russian spy plane flew overhead, its guns firing directly for the _Argo II._

"GET IN THE FOREST AND HIDE!" Percy screamed, leading the rush to the forest to escape the view of the Russian jet. Rushing, the small group of demigods stumbled into the forest, fear and adrenaline running through their veins. In the distance, the _Argo II_ burst into flames, much to the demigod's dismay. This seemed to be the Russians only focus however, as the plane vanished off into the distance.

"We're trapped…" Percy whispered in dismay.

XXX

The Olympians arrived in New York city two hours after sunrise. They charged down the streets in their chariots, only to find the city mostly abandoned, with only a few pale faces of the poor and the lonely staring at them from broken windows.

Poseidon coughed. Then gasped.

"Gods don't get sick…" Poseidon said, fear coming into his voice.

The other gods stared at him in dismay. They were fading.

"We need to find where everyone went and make them believe we're still here. They must think we're dead or dying…" Artemis stated.

"Lead the way daughter, you are, after all, the Goddess of the Hunt." Zeus stated.

XXX

Connor Stoll woke up blearily, his vision perfect. Gasping, he tore his head from the fire he had been laying in, only to find he was not burnt.

"W – What?" He asked himself, speaking to the darkness.

The room he was laying in suddenly lit up, as the fire had just begun to burn much brighter than it had been before. Connor looked at his hands and gasped in shock. There were red burn marks running across his hands and up his arms.

"You have been blessed by fire…" a voice said from the darkness.

Connor spun, and saw only the shadows given off by the flickering light.

"Who's there? Who are you? Where am I?!" Connor shouted desperately at the darkness.

"Who Am I? An interesting question, one I do not know of the answer. As for where you are? Why, you are laying on the floor of a small cottage on Westminster avenue, hidden from the normal eye, of course." The voice from the darkness said, surprisingly welcoming. "A better question would be, what am I? You see, child, I am the darkness. You are born of fire. Most people would have it that we are enemies, light, and the dark. This is not true, for light cannot shine without darkness for it to shine upon, and shadows cannot be cast without the light to cast them." The voice spoke.

Connor looked at the darkness, the shadows cast by the light of the fire.

"There is only one true being in this universe. One true god. And it is not a god of light, or a god of darkness, or even light or death. The Greek Gods pale in comparison to the one true creator of all. The atom. The atom is our god, not the fire, the magic, the darkness. Not Zeus, or Poseidon, or Hades. Not Death, or Life, or Chaos and Order. We bow only to what we are made of. The atom. The light is formed from atoms, the darkness, shadows cast by the atoms forming the light. The air we breathe, is made of atoms. You were chosen to be blessed by fire. That is why you are here, dear child, because you are the prophesied one to stop this war before it goes out of control." The voice from the shadows whispered.

"What am I to do? I'm not a chosen one, I'm just a son of Hermes, the god of thieves and travel and messages. How am I the one to save the world?" Connor asked in desperation.

"Save the world? No. You will not be saving this world, for it is already doomed. If not by this war, then by the foolish working of mortals. Their machinery and pollution have long doomed this earth. No, you have been chosen to create a balance…"

"How do I do that?" Connor asked, beginning to relax.

"Seek out a mortal by the name of Jonathan Crowl." The shadow stated, and with that, Connor was ejected from the house, leaving him with nothing but the clothes on his back and the odd brandings on his arms.

XXX

Pilot James Kenzie glanced at his radar again. Nothing in sight but clouds. Glancing at his map, he estimated they were seven hours from Russia, a further nine from the capital of Moscow.

He picked up his speaker and spoke to his crew. "Check that nuclear bomb, soldiers. If that thing detonates in here, well, let's just say our chance of survival is quite literally 0." He said grimly.

The President had sent him on a dangerous mission. They were attempting to drop an atomic bomb on the Russian capital, a direct attempt on Putin's life, as well as millions of people. Kenzie couldn't help but agree with General Dunford. Dropping a nuclear bomb on Russia was only going to end badly for everyone. Literally everyone. Not even China would remain unscathed should more than 50,000 atomic bombs be detonated during this war.

"The atomic bomb is secure captain. Ready for dropping in 16 hours." A soldier said to Kenzie. He was a keen lad, the soldier, having volunteered for this mission to 'protect his country.'

Kenzie nodded, but he couldn't help but think that this mission would be the opposite to protecting America.

XXX

**February 6th, 2020**

Percy continued the painful trek through the forest with the other demigods. Food was short, and they had no tents with them after their sprint into the forest. Percy had considered going back for supplies, but Annabeth had dismissed the idea as too dangerous. Whilst Percy agreed, what was the point of it being too dangerous if they were just going to starve anyways?

"We aren't going to starve out here Percy." Annabeth said, reading his mind. "We have the children of Apollo to hunt, and the children of Demeter to find fresh fruit and water. The children of Hermes are surprisingly good at making fires as well. We're going to be fine, all we need to do is wait for the Gods to send us a ship or a way back." Annabeth stated confidently.

"But what if they don't? What if their flight back to America was because of something else? I doubt they would abandon us like that, not after fighting that battle with us." Percy said worriedly.

"I don't know Percy, but I'm sure they had good reason for doing what they did. I doubt they would forget about us, not after…" Annabeth trailed off, her breath fogging in the cold air.

"We need some way to motivate the demigods to survive, some of us have already given up." Percy said, remembering back to the previous morning. It had been a gruesome sight, waking up to see that three demigods had committed suicide during the night. It was almost unbelievable with the situation they were in.

They had sent children of Hermes ahead to scout earlier that day, along with the few of Artemis's hunters that weren't part of her main hunt.

Still, the yell of Russian forces up ahead startled the small group of miserable demigods out of their stupor.

"Run! There way too many of them!" came the yell from one of Hermes's children, quickly followed by screams from further on in the forest.

"RUN!" Percy yelled, shocking the demigods into action as they charged back the way they had come, stumbling through the snow.

More screams rang out through the forest. Percy and Annabeth were with the rest of the seven and a small group of about eleven demigods. The rest were split up in the forest, fighting for survival.

"Come on! We can escape this! We're stronger and faster than they are! Just don't leave the forest!" Percy shouted to the demigods nearby. They stumbled further into the forest, adrenaline and the knowledge that if they slowed down, they died keeping them running. Eventually they stumbled upon a small cave in the snow, and the group collapsed wearily in the cave, the shouts of Russians and screams of demigods in the distance.

XXX

**February 7th, 2020**

Pilot Kenzie rubbed his hands together nervously, preparing to take the controls back from his co – pilot for the big moment. The moment they would drop the atomic bomb on Moscow and hopefully kill Vladimir Putin. His co – pilot nodded to him grimly and Kenzie took control of the aircraft.

The head soldier on the plane entered the small cockpit.

"Prepare for the dropping of the atomic bomb. We'll be over Moscow in less than an hour." Kenzie said.

The soldier nodded.

"Prepare the bomb!" he shouted back into the area behind him.

A chorus of 'Yes Sir! Rang from the group of men in the back as the hurriedly prepared to drop an atomic bomb on Moscow.

The time passed achingly slowly for Kenzie as he nervously piloted the American bomber.

"5 minutes until drop!" He shouted, the soldiers in the back of the plane yelling affirmatives at him.

When the bomb was released, Kenzie could never have prepared himself for what he saw next.

XXX

Connor walked calmly through the streets of New York, eyes scanning the surrounding high rises and skyscrapers. Upon leaving the house, he had calmed down immensely, his mind clear and free of issues. He had no burdens and no fear of the ruined city around him. He walked over to the part of the city, which was most civilised, and began to ask the people who refused to leave about Jonathan Crowl.

After what felt like hours of fruitless searching, Connor finally found an old woman who said she knew where he lived.

"Why are you searching for him?" The old lady inquired, peering at Connor suspiciously and eyeing the burns on his arms in distaste. "You aren't part of one of those gangs, are you?" she asked, eyes screwing up in scrutiny as she looked him up and down.

"No Ma'am, I am searching for him because he knows something important, or so I believe" Connor said, tilting his head slightly.

The old lady gazed at him suspiciously for a moment, then shook her head. "What happened to your arms?" she inquired, eyes darting towards the burn marks.

"My apartment caught fire a couple of days ago, I barely made it out." Connor stated in a monotone.

The old woman grimaced. "Mr. Crowl lives in an apartment about 2 miles that way." The old woman said, gesturing in the direction of Long Island. "I can't quite remember the name of the apartment block he lives in, but it shouldn't be too hard to find." The old woman stated, waving her hand dismissively.

"Thank you." Connor said sincerely, immediately setting off at a brisk pace in the direction the woman had pointed.

It was close to sundown by the time Connor found the right apartment.

"Jonathon Crowl? I'm Connor Stoll, and I'm a demigod. I was told to look for you" Connor said as the door of the apartment opened to reveal a tired looking man with messy black hair.

XXX

**Thanks for reading chapter five! Leave a review and let me know what you think :D**


	6. Chapter 6

**WARNING! Lots of swearing in this chapter. **

**Chapter Six **

**February 7th, 2020 **

The bomb flew downwards towards Moscow, the Russian capital, with barely a sound. The bomber plane flew on as fast as possible to get out of the blast zone.

Kenzie watched the missile fall from the cameras attached to the plane, designed to track the path of the nuclear bomb from long distances. Kenzie and the soldiers around him gasped in disbelief as the bomb smashed into some sort of invisible force several hundred feet above the capital, detonating instantly. The radiation flew up into the air, smoke clouded the skies above the crash, but from what the crew could see, the capital remained unharmed.

"What in the name of –

**BOOM!**

XXX

**February 8th, 2020 **

The Olympians rushed towards where the majority of the population was fleeing, Washington and Boston. The people looked up in wonder as they flew in on their golden chariots.

Cries of wonder filled the God's ears as they gazed upon the mortal populace.

"I feel stronger already!" Zeus proclaimed in relief.

"Yes… but what about the demigods? What about our children?" Athena asked worriedly.

"I'm sure they're safe aboard the _Argo II, _and we can expect their arrival in a couple of days." Zeus responded confidently.

Athena grumbled and looked away, dwelling on her thoughts.

The Gods continued their parade through the streets, throwing words of calmness and reassurance outwards to the people gathering in the streets of Boston.

XXX

"Dunford!" the annoyed voice of President Donald J. Trump rang from his private office.

"President Trump?" Dunford responded, entering the room and moving to stand in front of his desk.

"Any word from the pilot of that bomber plane?" asked Trump impatiently.

"None so far sir" Dunford responded in his usual monotone.

"Are you sure? The bombing should have been completed three hours ago. Unless they died in the process." Trump stated.

"I'm sure they're just delayed sir" Dunford responded.

"Or they're traitors." Trump said absently, turning to look out of the window. Dunford glanced up in shock at the words. "Have the generals prepare the bomb shelter for me. I expect Russia will wish to strike back." Trump ordered, spinning to look Dunford in the eyes.

"Of course, sir." Dunford responded, turning to leave.

"Dunford!" Trump all but yelled at his back.

Dunford spun. "Sir?"

"Make sure the people fleeing from New York are the last to have access to the shelter. I'd prefer the people who have stood by me to have priority." Trump sneered.

"Yes sir." Dunford responded resignedly.

XXX

"So, a shadow sent you to find me?" Jonathan Crowl asked with a raised eyebrow.

"Yes. I don't know why though. In fact, I was hoping you would." Connor responded.

"Well, I have no idea why it would send a demigod to find me. I'm a normal person, no magical powers, no godly parents or any of that." Jonathan said, looking up from the coffee table.

"Do you have any particular talents?" Connor asked.

"No, none that would be particularly useful." Jonathan said.

"Think about it. Maybe something happened when you were younger that you barely remember? Something out of the ordinary perhaps?" Connor asked.

Jonathan turned and gazed out of the window towards the wreckage of the Empire State Building, his brows furrowed in thought.

"There was a time." He started.

Connor's head jerked up to look at him as he began to speak.

"When I was young, just a boy. I would have been in primary school. I remember, we had a teacher back then. I can't remember his name now, but I remember exactly what he looked like. He was old, perhaps too old for a second-grade teacher. And he had this mad glint in his eye. He always stared, whenever you spoke to answer a question, or spoke out of turn, he stared. He never said anything, just watched." Jonathan took a deep breath. "One morning, one of the children in my class, Zac, I think his name was, asked a question. He asked the teacher why he always stared, or looked, or watched the children when they spoke." Jonathan reached forward and took a swig of water, churning it around in his mouth before swallowing. "The man responded with something odd, something I didn't really expect."

"He said: 'It's because I want to see which one of you is growing up the fastest. I want to know how jawlines change as people get older, and if it always happens during a certain time period, or if they change constantly throughout childhood.'

"This answer seemed to satisfy the class, but for some reason, I knew he was lying. I could hear the lie underneath the words. I remember, at that moment, thinking that I hated him. I don't know why, but I just had this hate, this hate that I knew he was lying. I don't know how I knew, just that I did. The memory has been remarkably clear ever since, it's always stood out to me when I remember things from my past."

Connor tilted his head to the side, his eyes clearly showing interest.

"Let's play a game." He said.

XXX

Percy was the first to wake from the exhaustion induced slumber the demigods had fallen into. The first thing he noticed was that it was cold, very cold. It appeared the Russian winter had fallen upon them almost overnight.

He immediately roused his fellow demigods, watching as one by one they began to wake and rub feeling into their stiff limbs.

Several moments passed before anyone said anything. Finally, Annabeth spoke up. "We need a plan, and a good one at that."

Percy nodded in agreement with the other demigods.

"We need to find a way to survive Russia in winter and escape this country. Hopefully the Russians think they killed all of us and won't pursue us unless they see us. So, we must keep to the forests and undercover. Our primary goal is to escape Russia, but I sure as hell wouldn't mind taking some Russians down with me if we're caught." Annabeth finished.

A solemn silence descended upon the campsite as the reality of their situation set in. They were stranded, a small group of them, in unknown territory, in _enemy_ territory.

"Well, we better get moving before we freeze. I doubt taking wood from trees is a good idea. It would hardly last on the vast trip back to America." Annabeth said.

The other demigods nodded in agreement.

"The best thing we can do is set up camp by the edge of the forest closest to the water and hope the gods provide us with a ship." She continued.

"I could always try and build one if we get desperate, and I'm sure Percy can keep us out of trouble on the water." Leo said.

Annabeth looked at him doubtfully. "If we're desperate."

Leo rolled his eyes. "Look, I'm just saying, that's probably one of our best options right now."

Annabeth nodded. "For now, let's set up camp."

XXX

"Sir! We've been hit!" a young soldier yelled in a panic from the back of Kenzie's bomber.

Kenzie snapped in that moment. He remembered the orders from Trump to ruin the lives of millions of people. He remembered being forced into this stupid mission, and he remembered the looks on the faces of the populace smart enough to understand what he was doing as he took off.

"NO FUCKING SHIT KID! I HEARD THE FUCKING MISSILE STRIKE THE PLANE, I FELT THE DAMN THING, AND I CAN SEE THAT WE'RE RAPIDLY FALLING TOWARDS THE FUCKING GROUND! NOW GET YOUR FUCKING PARACHUTE AND LETS TRY AND SURVIVE INSTEAD OF YELLING OBVIOUS SHIT AND NOT DOING ANYTHING!" Kenzie shouted in anger. He stormed into the back and forcefully yanked out a parachute. Then, without another word, he leapt from the plane and towards the rapidly approaching ground.

When Kenzie judged the time was right, he pulled the parachute cord and slowly descended, the rest of the crew in the air around him.

Kenzie breathed out slowly as his feet touched Russian soil and was immediately forced to hold up his hands at the site of over 20 machine guns being pointed at his face.

XXX

"I call this game the game of lies." Connor said, looking at a slightly worried looking Jonathan Crowl.

"Here's how it works. I say three sentences, two of which are the truth, and the other which is a lie. Your job is to determine which sentence is the lie, and so forth. We trade turns, and whoever correctly picks the lie the most times wins. Simple?" Connor explained.

Jonathan nodded.

"I'll go first" Connor said. "Sentence number one: I have, once, died for seven seconds. Sentence number two: I have never used normal technology or electricity such as a television or mobile phone. And third: I have an identical twin brother called Christopher."

"The third one was a lie." Jonathan said immediately.

"And how did you know that?" Connor asked, genuinely interested.

"I don't know, I could just… feel that you were lying, I suppose." Jonathan said.

Connor raised an eyebrow. "And if I told you I had an identical twin brother called Travis?" He asked.

"Then you'd be telling the truth…" Jonathan responded, his voice dropping off at the end. "That's why you were told to find me… I can discern truths from lies" he said.

"Yes, that is what I suspected." Connor said.

XXX

**February 9th, 2020**

Vladimir Putin stared at the sky, filled with the smoke and radiation of the American atomic bomb which had just been dropped on his city. Of course, the immense, powerful shield designed by his most trusted and intelligent scientists blocked the blast perfectly. There had even been time for a missile to be sent back, knocking the fleeing bomber plane from the sky. All of the soldiers and pilots on board had been captured and sent to the cells under the prison, specifically built for enemies of Russia.

"President Putin?" the voice of Valery Gerasimov rang through the chamber Putin sat in.

"General, any news?" Putin responded calmly, looking up at his most trusted General.

"A small intelligence camp about 3000 strong was attacked by a force of so-called demigods a few days ago. According to the one man that escaped by pretending to be dead, even the gods made an appearance. According to the soldier, the guns and artillery the camp used to defend against them was effective against the gods, and they even knocked some out of the sky." Gerasimov said.

"Perfect. So, these gods are not as powerful as we originally thought." Putin said.

"There is more good news, Sir. The Gods were nowhere to be found when our scouts examined the remains of the demigod camp. Our plane was able to shoot down their ship, leaving the demigods to run into the forest. We believe most – if not all – to be dead." Gerasimov said.

"Perfect. I assume you are aware of what my response to this nuclear attack is going to be?" Putin asked.

Gerasimov looked down despairingly. "I believe I do, sir. You wish to send nuclear missiles back at the Americans?"

"Of course, Valery. I have to respond as I was attacked, or I will appear weak." Putin said.

"Yes sir. I just believe that ending the lives of millions of people isn't the right way to go about this war. If we don't send nuclear missiles back… well… maybe Trump will realise he is being foolish in attacking us and will sue for peace?" Valery said.

"On the contrary, Gerasimov, I believe this is the perfect way to go about this war. I highly doubt Trump had the shielding to nuclear missiles we do. He will likely be hidden away in a nuclear bunker while I bomb every open place in America. With him unable to surface, he will struggle to fight back. Crush the threat before it becomes too big Gerasimov. Remember that." Putin said, leaning back in his chair.

"Yes sir." Gerasimov said dejectedly. It was almost impossible to change Putin's mind. He was set on the path of destroying America. And after all, his logic did make sense in a twisted kind of way. Valery Gerasimov still refused to believe that the lives of millions, if not billions of people were about to disappear. All in the click of a finger. Walking down the hallway, Gerasimov couldn't help but wonder what would become left of the world once the nuclear missiles had all been detonated.

With a sigh, he walked back down to the dungeons, where the crew of the attacking bomber were being held.

He would have to show Putin them tomorrow.

XXX

Percy groaned as he pushed himself to his feet, slipping slightly on the icy ground. Around him, the other demigods began to stir.

The group of now 22, stood, stretching stiff muscles and sore limbs.

"The Russians will probably be back." One of them said dejectedly, receiving no response.

Something moved nearby. The demigods immediately tensed, weapons hissing from sheaths. A dog crawled from the bushes, nose sniffing. Frozen, the demigods watched the dog, weapons raised threateningly. Suddenly the dog barked, the sound ringing through the forest. And in response, Russian shouts rang through the clearing, clearly excited.

Without a word, they took off, sprinting through the undergrowth in the other direction, unwilling to discover how many Russians were in the forest with them. They tore through the forest for what seemed like hours, eventually reaching the edge, in front of them, were large, snowy plains.

Percy nodded to the right, and the demigods swiftly crept along the edge of the forest. Adrenaline the only thing keeping them from dropping down in the snow. The Russian shouts were quieter now, and Annabeth indicated that they should rest.

"We're safe for now. But who knows how many Russian soldiers there are out there? It isn't safe to sleep; we should rest here for an hour and then keep moving." Annabeth said, puffing slightly due to their impromptu sprint through the forest.

It was a child of Hermes that came to the startling realisation. "We have no idea where we are…" he said, fear evident in his voice.

The demigods shivered. They were alone, trapped in a foreign country, with no idea where they were, or how to escape.

XXX

Connor Stoll and Jonathon Crowl walked briskly through the quiet streets of New York, an unfamiliar sight. Law enforcement officers were becoming slack, with many people dealing and doing drugs on street corners or in small alleyways.

"The shadow, darkness, whatever it called itself, told me to find some sort of balance. I've been trying to discern what exactly it meant, and what you have to do with it." Connor stated. "It also said I had been blessed by fire, but other than the brands on my arms, I do not feel or look any different then before."

"Odd. Well, don't ask me for advice. I don't know anything about magic or shadows or any of that. Before now, I just thought I was completely regular. Being able to discern whether someone is lying or telling the truth doesn't change how smart I am." Jonathan said with a small chuckle.

Connor sighed, his sword swinging by his hip. "I just wish I knew what to do. I have this burden now, one I never asked for. I don't know where all the other demigods went, because I haven't seen them at all in the last few days, and for the first time in my life, I don't know where my twin is. Something's seriously wrong here, and I have no idea what it is. That scares me." Connor said, his pace slowing.

"Yeah, something's definitely up. Totally not at war with Russia right now." Jonathan said, sarcasm dripping from his voice.

Connor rolled his eyes.

"Freeze!" a voice suddenly shouted from the shadows of a nearby alley.

Connor spun instantly, fists up to face the threat. There was a man in the shadows, completely wrapped in dark clothing, and holding a knife up in a terrible grip.

"Give me all your money an' I won't hurt ya'!" the man shouted, raising the knife further.

Connor looked at the man in disdain. It was people like this that could ruin the world if they got their hands on the right weapons.

Connor sprung into action, his hand snapping out and grabbing the man's wrist. His left hand then flew forwards, breaking the man's nose before he had time to react. Connor snatched the knife from his hand and threw it away.

"I should kill you right now." Connor sneered at the now cowering man. He threw the man down the alleyway, then grabbed the knife and shoved it through his belt.

Jonathan hurried after him as he strode away, eyes wide.

"Maybe I need to find the balance between good and evil." Connor mused as he continued down the street.

XXX

**Thanks for reading! Sorry for the - once again - incredibly long wait. School caught up with me again unfortunately. Not much I can do about that except write as much as I can over the next 10 days. I'm not sure how much that will be, but I will aim to release two more chapters over the next couple of weeks. **

**If you stuck by me, thank you so much! I greatly appreciate the people that will continue to read this even though my uploading schedule, is quite frankly, terrible. Thankfully, next term is the last term of the year, so after that term I'll have 7 weeks or so to try and finish this story (hopefully). However, I cannot promise anything as I don't want to rush the ending or ruin the story in the process. **

**Thanks for reading again, and hopefully I'll have another chapter out within the next week. **


	7. Chapter 7

**Chapter Seven**

**Well… I know this time I've uploaded a chapter on a decent schedule. Not sure if anyone reading this was reading that Legend of the Creators story I wrote a while back (like 2-3 years or something?). Those were the times though. I uploaded like once a week and had an actual decent schedule. (Slight lack of actual writing skill though… wait a minute nothing has changed). **

**Not sure if Chapter 8 will be coming any time soon. Honestly depends on whether I have time to continue it. I promise I will finish this story though… one day. **

**Anyways – special thank you to SPQR-Alan for sticking by this story despite my questionable upload schedule and possibly weak excuses. Your reviews are always a delight to read and are a large part of my motivation to write this story despite my… well… lack of motivation (and time). **

**Something I found amusing; someone (a guest) decided to review with just straight up: "I hated it." Having only read to the end of chapter 2. Anyways thought that was pretty funny, nice and blunt. **

**On with the story!**

**Chapter Seven. **

Percy groaned as he pulled himself off the hard, cold ground. The Russian's that had been following them were long gone, but so was their hope.

Other demigods were moving about the small, isolated location by the edge of the Russian forest.

"So… what now?" one of them asked. Percy wasn't sure of his name, though judging by the worn bow and nearly empty quiver, it was fairly easy to guess that he was a son of Apollo.

Annabeth, for once, didn't have a plan of escape, or attack. "I don't see any way of us escaping this… there's plains to one side and the forest to the other. We can't even be sure the forest will lead us to the coastline anymore granted how far we've moved."

"I say we continue our mission. Sure… maybe the gods left… but we can still do something. Prove to them that we are worthy of being here. We might be trapped, but I don't see the point of moping. Let's attack something, do something useful. Maybe we'll find a way to assassinate Putin or something." A son of Ares, Percy was fairly certain his name was Matthew, yelled.

A few of the other demigods yelled in agreement.

"At least they're optimistic" Percy muttered, trying to ignore the sense of dread creeping over his shoulder.

"Right… well if you are all insistent on this plan. I say we need to get moving. The plains are too dangerous due to it being easy to spot us. I think we should trace the forest until we have no other choice but to move further inland." Annabeth said, though her voice sounded resigned.

"Why don't we just crawl across the plains?" one of the demigods called out.

"I'm not even going to address that." Annabeth said with a sigh. "Someone else tell him why we can't crawl across the plains."

The demigods walked swiftly through the undergrowth surrounding the forest, senses tingling and on high alert. It wasn't long before one of the demigods spotted something odd.

"There's a village! After the trees!" he yelled. It was the son of Apollo from earlier.

The demigods looked in shock as they saw the village. They immediately dropped to the ground, swords sliding from sheaths with low hisses.

"There's something wrong." Annabeth whispered in surprise. "I think it's… burning." She said, confusion evident on her face.

"You're right. It's likely to be evacuated or abandoned." Percy whispered. "We should check it out. We're nearly out of food, there could be some left there."

"No!" Annabeth hissed. "Whatever burnt that village could be nearby. It's too dangerous."

"So is us starving. There's almost no wildlife out here that we've seen, except for that bear. We need food. If we don't look there, we could be wasting resources we may need to survive. The possible rewards outweigh the risks." Percy responded.

Annabeth shook her head. "Fine, but if we all die, I blame you. I have a bad feeling about this." She whispered back angrily.

The demigods ignored her. They were hungry, and for the most part, agreed with Percy. They crept forward; the village seemed to be empty from their vantage point on the hill. Slipping, the group shuffled down the slope and towards the village, smoke rising from several of the buildings. Demigod after demigod quietly slipped into the shadows of the numerous building's in the village, although there was no sign of life. They slowly made their way inward, all of them jumping at sudden noises.

It was Percy that broke the silence; "I think we're clear."

No response came from the demigods, though a couple relaxed slightly.

"Let's hunt for food and water. It could be a best chance of surviving here." Percy whispered to the line of demigods. They nodded in turn, before they split up and began searching the abandoned houses, carefully avoiding the half of the village which was burning. The fire seemed relatively controlled, though it was likely due to the snowy conditions.

Percy scored with finding a small cupboard full of tinned soup, obviously prepared for the cold weather. He immediately crept out and waved Annabeth over to help him carry the soup. Whilst starting a fire was risky, they knew it would be worth it for the soup. Especially if they lit it in the village, where the fire was far more likely to be dismissed.

A few other demigods also found soup, rice, and other basic food materials.

"Any sign of fresh water?" Percy asked the group.

"There's a river a fair way that way. Not sure how fresh it is, but it's better than nothing." one of them stated.

"Perfect! As long as it isn't saltwater, I honestly couldn't care less about how dirty it is. We need water, and I for one, am not going to be fussy about it as long as I live." Percy responded, grinning for the first time since their arrival in Russia.

"See, Annabeth! Told you this village would be good news." He said. "I'm surprised at the small amount of food though. Wouldn't a village like this, out in the snow, have some kind of warehouse to store food?" Percy asked thoughtfully.

"It does." Annabeth said, pointing her finger at a huge warehouse on the far side of the village, completely engulfed in flames.

"Ah… that makes more sense." Percy said with a sigh.

XXX

Vladimir Putin strolled through the hallways of his safehouse, flanked by four bodyguards armed with automatic weapons. Putin himself wore a bullet – proof vest under his suit.

"General Gerasimov! Take me to the prisoners." Putin called to the general, who was waiting patiently at the end of the hallway.

"Through here." Gerasimov said, struggling to keep the displeasure off his face at the nuclear tactics Putin was currently resorting to.

Putin strolled through, following his most trusted general.

General Valery Gerasimov led Putin down into the dungeons where the ten or so men that had survived the missile that had shot their plane down.

Putin sneered in disgust at the blood – soaked men sitting in the dungeon.

"Why did you attempt to strike my capital city with an atomic bomb?" Putin sneered at them, speaking in heavily accented English.

One, seemingly the general or commander of them, spoke up. "Trump forced us to. His adviser, our second in command of America, even told Trump it was a bad idea. But he won't listen. He sent us to bomb you, against our wishes." The man seemed fairly confident in his answer. Putin glared at him, unresponsive to the statement.

"You could have run away. Why did you not?" Putin finally asked, a sneer back on his face.

"Running away would betray the honour of my country, despite my own moral distaste for the order." He responded.

"You would slaughter millions for your honour?" Putin asked, danger clear in his eyes.

The commander spat. "It's no worse than what you do. Sure, Trump said something stupid. But he does that every other week. You chose to start a war over the offense, you chose to slaughter millions. You think you're better than him? More mature than Trump? You aren't. You're both the same; evil dictators. You sacrifice lives for whatever you think is best. But you don't know what's best. Nuclear warfare will ruin the world, not save it. You're all selfish, the lot of you. And I know I sound like a fucking hypocrite, and I know I fucked up with that bomb, so kill me if you will, I deserve it. But you, you and Trump? You're just as much to blame. I'm just the tool, the tool that he swings. Fuck you, fuck your ideologies and your mentality. Fucking kill me, I don't care, torture me if you will. It'll make me feel better!"

Putin recoiled from the viciousness of the speech, but quickly returned to the sneer he had been wearing before. Angrily he said; "You Americans, you are all the same." He then quickly turned to the guards nearby. Switching to Russian, he snarled: "Torture him. I want every scrap of information he has." Putin then spun and walked out of the dungeons.

XXX

"Kenzie, you're an idiot." Was all Harold said after Putin had left and they were alone with the guards once again.

"I don't fuckin' care anymore. I'm stuck in Russia, in prison, because Trump can't keep his fucking mouth shut and Putin has the temper of a four year – old. We were in the wrong. We should have ignored Trump, fled somewhere. Who cares if people thought we were cowards, or traitors, or whatever? At least we wouldn't have been part of the assassination of over a million people." Kenzie said bitterly.

The guards suddenly opened the door and dragged Kenzie out. 'And so, the torture starts.' He thought, still slightly out of it. He couldn't quite believe his current position. Stuck being tortured in Russia, trapped between two torturous dictators.

He swore he wouldn't give up any information. May as well stick to his stupid honour code if he was going to die anyways. Afterall, Putin and Trump were just as bad as each other.

XXX

Five bomber planes travelled towards America, all with different targets; New York, Washington, Boston, San Francisco and Los Angeles.

"Gromov! How far out are you from New York?" Raskova barked through the connection.

"About 5 hours, how far are you from Washington?" Gromov responded.

"About the same. Perfect." She responded.

"America is about to get a big surprise." Gromov said happily. "There's no way their radars can sense us from this high. Russia is once again, ahead with the technology. America is going to pay."

XXX

The demigods sat around the fire in the centre of the unburnt side of the village, no one speaking a word. They slurped on cans of tin soup mixed with small portions of rice. The night was dark and cold, each gust of wind threatening to put out the small fire they had created. The fire that had taken half of the village had cooled down due to the temperature and was mostly controlled, although it was still large and bright. The flames threatened to give away their position, although it was likely that no Russians would care for a small, burning village in the middle of a war.

They shivered in the cold. It felt different to the cold in America, colder, for sure, but still different. All of them felt it, and none wanted to explain what they felt. Russia was a curse.

Percy suddenly jolted up from his position on the small wooden chair.

"Did any of you hear that?" he asked, panic clear in his voice.

"No? are you alright?" Annabeth asked, concerned.

"I swear I heard something." He said, glancing around.

Annabeth nodded grimly. "Everyone draw your weapons. I don't care if none of us heard it, there could be something out there, and I don't particularly feel like getting jumped."

The rest of the demigods nodded, all of them standing up quickly. Weapons hissed out of sheaths as they stood, senses tingling.

A twig snapped.

The demigods spun towards the sound. It sounded like it had come from behind the buildings furthest from the fire.

"We need to get behind cover. If its Russian soldiers, which it should be, they have guns. Follow me!" Percy called quickly, immediately running back towards the buildings.

That was when they attacked. The demigods barely got behind cover when what looked like a hundred Greek monsters leapt from the shadows, teeth bared.

"Monsters! How did they get here, in Russia?" Percy yelled.

"Its probably better than fighting guns and tanks from Russian forces." Annabeth said.

"There's still way too many of them for 20 or so demigods. We need to escape." Percy responded, thinking quickly. "Through the fire?"

Annabeth had no time to respond as they followed the rest of the demigods into retreat, towards the flames.

"We need to run in between the flaming buildings! They won't all be able to follow us; we might have a chance!" Percy screamed across the field. So far, all the demigods were keeping pace as they continued towards the flaming buildings.

They continued the panicked rush towards the flames and the houses.

XXX

***BREAKING NEWS***

_'This is reporter Olivia Laurence, and I'm reporting from inside one of nineteen nuclear bunkers built around America. Earlier today, five atomic bomb – carrying planes leapt upon America. Thankfully three were shot down by America's atomic defence system. Unfortunately, Washington and New York were both hit by nuclear bombs. Fortunately for the majority of New York, America's high radars and new AAA weapons were able to scare the plane off target, the atomic bomb released landed off target and there were only fifteen thousand casualties, compared to the predicted 250,000. Unfortunately, the fifth plane was able to slip through the defences, and stuck dead on Washington. Thankfully the majority of the armed forces and half of the public were safe in the nuclear bunker at the time.' _

***Swish***

"Well, that was certainly exciting." Connor said with a sigh. He and Jonathan had been one of the first to evacuate New York and were currently staying in a hotel in some random town.

"That's one way to put it, I suppose." Jonathan responded dejectedly. "I don't think many people are going to survive this war."

"I hate to say it, but you're likely right. This war is going to far, it shouldn't have even started!" Connor responded.

"We need to figure out how to stop it. I know we have something to do with it, well at least, I think." Jonathan said.

"True, I wish it wasn't like this. But your ability to tell truths from lies must have something to do with it. Maybe we should travel to whatever nuclear bunker Trump is staying in. We know there's one in Washington D.C., which is the one he is likely staying in. But we can't go there because of the radioactivity. Fuck. I really don't know what to do. Maybe there's a tunnel system we can use? If Trump is prepared, he'll have some way to escape the bunker and avoid the radiation above." Connor said thoughtfully. "We'll have to search."

"I agree, it's the best plan we have at the moment. We need to try and get an interview with Trump, maybe we can discern what's happening here. I know everyone thinks Trump is an idiot, but not even he would try to go to war over a comment. Come to think of it… Putin probably wouldn't either. They do act stupid and like huge dickheads sometimes, but this is weird, even for them." Jonathan said.

Connor's eyebrows raised. "You think there could be something else?"

"I'm saying they aren't acting properly. I don't know if they finally snapped at each other or what, but either way, going to war over something so small is extremely… well… extreme." Jonathan responded.

"Something to think about." Connor said, leaning back.

XXX

"America's defence systems still aren't strong enough for Russia's foreign, advanced technology. I want every nuclear physicist, normal physicist, chemists, all the technological scientists, working on our defences. For now, though, we need to strike." Trump said, looking down at General Dunford.

Dunford nodded, not trusting himself to speak up against Trump. He had given up on that after he had sent nuclear missiles after Moscow.

"I want seven nuclear bombs sent at their country. Don't go after Moscow though, it seems its defence is too strong. I want to damage the people, to let them know what happens when Putin goes to war with us. Strike small cities, cities unlikely to be heavily defended with Anti – Air Artillery. I want Russia to hurt, and I want it to hurt a lot." He said.

Dunford's eyes widened. "You want me to target innocent people? People that have done nothing wrong?"

"It is for the good of the war. Or do you want me to send the order myself, and have you executed for cowardliness? I like you Dunford, but you constantly contradict me." Trump responded, eyes narrowing.

"I'll give the order, President." Dunford responded dejectedly, walking out the room with his head bowed.

"Dunford!"

The general turned to look back at the president.

"Choose the cities wisely." Trump said.

"Yes, President." Dunford responded, exiting the room before Trump could say anything else.

XXX

Percy dashed behind a small house, attempting to catch his breath. It had been hit and run for the last half hour, barely denting the force they were being attacked with. They had lost two demigods in trade for about 20 monsters. Percy groaned as he heard a hellhound nearby. He held riptide out in front of him and lunged. The hellhound managed to scurry out of way of Percy's lunge. It spun, growling angrily. Percy quickly swung at its head, forcing it to leap back, receiving a small cut on its nose. Anger filled the hellhounds face as it leapt forward. Percy swung, his sword smashing into the hellhounds head, causing it to fly backwards, a cut as deep to the bone in its neck. It collapsed into golden dust upon striking the ground.

Percy immediately ran to where Annabeth was barely holding off two monsters. Percy managed to get one in the back, causing it to disappear into golden dust, whilst Annabeth caught the other in the side with her knife, sending it back to the underworld.

"Thanks" she breathed, before grabbing his hand and pulling him further back to where the other demigods were.

It seemed they had gained quite some distance on the other monsters.

"We need to get to that forest there without them spotting us." Annabeth breathed, pointing to a forest not far away. "They're searching houses, so we need to go now before they realise that we're just outside the village." She then took off running, leaving the other demigods no choice but to follow.

Stumbling, the demigods raced towards the safety of the trees, only stopping to shoot one monster which had spotted them. Thankfully, it seemed they were in the clear.

"We need to find somewhere to hide, preferably far from here. We're going to have to have multiple watchers." Annabeth said, taking control again. The others nodded, following her into the forest and away from the village.

It was two hours later that Annabeth finally called a halt. "We rest here" she said, dumping the small sack that was slung over her shoulder on the ground.

The demigods gratefully collapsed to the ground, breathing hard.

"Told you that village was bad news." Annabeth said, a lopsided grin on her face.

"Yeah well, at least we got some food." Percy grumbled back, although Annabeth could tell he was faking it.

"I still don't get how the monsters got to Russia." Annabeth said, sighing.

Percy wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Me either."

XXX

"The demigods haven't returned yet, Zeus." Athena said, narrowing her eyes at him.

"I – maybe we should look for them." Zeus agreed grudgingly. "I don't know why they would be in trouble though. All they had to do was take the Argo II back here."

"Maybe something happened. What if they're still in Russia?!" Athena said suddenly.

Poseidon's eyes widened. "They could be trapped over there. What if the ship got damaged during the fight? We didn't even check!"

"Poseidon's right. We were so distracted trying to save our own sorry asses we didn't even check to see if they had a way home!" Athena said.

"Maybe they just got lost?" Zeus suggested hopefully.

"Yeah… my son got lost at sea. Fat chance. We need to search. Send Artemis or Apollo or someone fast like Hermes. We need to find and help them if they are still in Russia." Poseidon said.

Zeus nodded. "You're right. Send Hermes, he's the fastest. Apollo! Look out for them from the sky, and yes, that means you need to take that bloody golden sun chariot off autopilot and actually do your job for once. Artemis! Look for them at night. We need to find them, they are important. Maybe they can't do much about this war, but they're certainly important to us." He said.

The other Gods nodded. Maybe they could actually do something selfless for once.

XXX

**Thanks for reading chapter 7! I'm honestly surprised I finished this, took a lot of struggling through, to say the least.**

**I'm honestly not sure if I'll have chapter 8 out in time for school, but I promise I'll try. Even if I don't, I'll probably write during study breaks if I feel like it. **

**Thank you so much if you're reading this, and hopefully after this next school term I'll have a decent update schedule. I'll try for 400-500 words a day to try and get chapter 8 at least mostly ready, but I can't promise anything so don't hold me to that!**

**Don't forget to review and all that!**


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